LDV back in administration as white knight Weststar decides to turn tail

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VANMAKER LDV, backed by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, is back in administration, after white knight Weststar rode out of town yesterday.<br /><br />The Malaysian company agreed last month to buy LDV, which employs 850 people in the UK, after it halted production due to a collapse in demand for vehicles.<br /><br />Weststar was the only bidder to express an interest in the company at the time.<br /><br />The UK government had offered a &pound;5m four-week bridge loan to Weststar, allowing it time to find investors in Malaysia, but the group was unable to secure funding.<br /><br />&ldquo;We gave LDV a breathing space, a bridge to the future but in the event, unfortunately, Weststar was unable to cross that bridge,&rdquo; business minister Ian Pearson said.